You can’t work all day long. I get most of my knitting time in the evening when I’m winding down for the night. I’ve been working on both Glenda’s socks and the pink and brown socks.

One sock finished! I just started the second one 2 days ago. I actually kind of like having the long section of leg and then the long section of the foot in front of me.  It’s really easy for on the go knitting. 

 The first Gentleman’s Fancy Sock is maybe half way done.  I like how this yarn is working with this pattern.  I’ve shortened the leg and will shorten the foot to fit me better and also so I don’t run out of yarn. If that’s not inspiration enough…

Look what my Mom brought me for Valentine’s Day.  Koigu! Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted! I’m so excited to try the Koigu.  I don’t have a pattern in mind yet, maybe a simple sock with a contrasting heel and toe.  This is the second time my Mom has picked out a sock yarn that I’ve been wanting to try, but haven’t yet bought myself (the other was Mountain Colors Bearfoot). The Lorna’s is a favorite after using it for Fetching wristwarmers.  I love this color too.  Maybe a One Skein Wonder? The yarn color choices were inspired by a really neat coffee mug.

I nearly forgot the books.  Socks Socks Socks which I kept telling myself to borrow from the library and Twisted Sisters.  Wow is there a ton of inspiration in both of these.  I can hardly wait to spend more time planning future projects from both of these books.

P.S. Did you know larger photos can be seen in the Photo Galleries? See the link at the bottom of the right navigation bar.

The crew from Whittington Tile and Stone (http://www.whittingtontileandstone.com/) is finishing up most of the details today.  They’re working on the back splashes through out the house and the tub deck in the master bath.  Whittington’s has been great to work with. Everyone on their staff is friendly and nice, and the installation has come together well. I’d definitely recommend them if you’re in the market for stone or tile.

The kitchen keeps changing! You can finally see where the island sink is. Since I took this photo they’ve put in all the back splash, but I think I’ll hold off an another picture until the faucets are in.

This is the Tropical Gold slab that we selected in Seattle.  The Vyara Gold that inspired this choice was lighter in color, more off-white and beige than anything else.  However, the pattern and swirls in the granite are the same. 

This is the Tropical Gold again – the same slab.  This piece was the darkest and has very appropriately ended up downstairs as I wanted this bathroom to be the darkest and richest in color. It’s also amazing to see how the granite changes based on it’s surroundings.  In the other upstairs bathroom (not shown), the walls are currently green.  It will be repainted, but in the meantime it makes the granite look very pink.

In addition to all the granite work, the painters have been busy prepping and painting all the doors and trim work.  We have what they call “white out” where all the trim is nailed up, then painted in place.  I can’t tell you how relieved I am that the crew is doing this work – it would take absolutely forever to do it ourselves.

It’s here! I don’t know why this seems like such a big step toward completion, but it does.  Maybe because our last big step was cabinets and that has been dragging on since mid-December.

About half the granite.  The other half is (of course) on the other side of the truck, plus they didn’t bring all of the backsplash pieces today.  They’ll be onsite today and tomorrow to install everything. This works perfectly because Richard and I can discuss where to drill the holes for the faucets this afternoon rather than me having to make those decisions on the spot.

This is St. Helena in the kitchen.  I can’t tell you how nice it looks to see countertops in the kitchen. There are two under mount sinks – one in the island and the standard kitchen sink in front of the window.

This is Verde Butterfly in the study.  It is actually darker than it appears in the photo.  Like all granite, you just need to see it in person!

This is Indian Parana on the hearth. I picked out this particular remnant piece because it went nicely with the Surface Art tile that is downstairs in the laundry and bathroom. 

What’s missing? The enormous slab we selected in Seattle.  No worries, it’s here too.  The installers hadn’t brought any pieces in the house yet so I don’t have a picture. Later today or tomorrow I’ll have photos of all the bathrooms.

There’s not a lot to show in photos, but Richard has been working hard on trim this week.  Here’s the current state of the kitchen.  See all the crown molding on the cabinets?

We also have almost all of our finish plumbing fixtures on site.  Would you believe I haven’t even opened the boxes and looked at my faucets? I’ve been sick this week and haven’t found the time to take a peak.

Granite install has been delayed until next week.  The painters will be back in the next few days to start preparing the trim and doors for painting, as well as doing touch up. I still need to finalize the tile choice for the master bath and the flooring for my craft room.  Otherwise, we are down to the final stages of construction.

What’s more appropriate for Valentine’s day then chocolates with pink and brown yarn? I’ve been trying to decide what to do with this Fleece Artist Merino every since I started feather and fan socks.  The feather and fan just wasn’t working for me and I had been thinking about whether or not it would work for Gentleman’s Fancy Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks.

I’m only an inch or so into this pattern, but I’m already liking it much better. This yarn has a luminescent sheen to it, it’s like the pink dye is only the outside and the beige is still visible underneath.  I can’t wait to see how the pattern stitch unfolds.

Now on to the other part of this post – Valentine’s Day chocolates from Amy’s Decadent Chocolates in Bremerton.

I’m really enjoying this sampler box from Amy’s.  Everything is delicious! If you aren’t familiar with Amy’s check out her website: http://www.amysdecadentchocolates.com/.

Last night I frogged and started a new project with the Fleece Artist Merino in Simply Sock Yarn’s special edition color.  I realized this morning how appropriate the colors are for a Valentine’s Day post, plus I have a box of chocolates to photograph with them.  Alas, my digital camera seems to have given up.  It showed no symptoms prior to this morning when I thought it odd that neither the charge nor USB light was lit.   

I am now searching for my older digital camera and will hopefully be able to do my Valentine’s Day post later in the day. For now I leave you with a photo of the wound yarn.

Update: I found the old camera.  Now where’s the USB cable? I have found several, but I’m not sure which one (if any) are okay to use with the camera. Richard will know so I should have it resolved soon.

I have completed another pair of Knitty’s Fetching.  This is my third pair. They are quick and easy, plus the Lorna’s Laces is so nice to work with. This is the color called Chino. Frankie received the first pair and will also get these for Valentine’s Day.

In the works are my second pair of socks in the Dublin Bay pattern.  I like the simple detail of this pattern. It’s a nice touch when the yarn has too much going on for a complex pattern. The yarn is Regia Strato Color. I’m enjoying the pinks, lavendars, and fuschias as they are bright and cheery. These are for Glenda.

I should have a picture of the first pair of Dublin Bay socks for you soon. I forgot to take one before giving them to my mom. 

We’ve been making good progress on the house finish work.  Here are the upper cabinets in the kitchen with the vent hood in place. 

Then we have the tile in the downstairs bathroom and laundry room.  I just love this tile.  It’s from Surface Art’s Venetian Signature collection.  It goes so perfectly with both the cabinets and the flooring, and has a lovely contrast against the blue walls. 

The fireplace has also been fired off and it’s decorative face has been installed.  The same tile you see above will go around the fireplace, covering the rectangular fire box so that all you see is the arched face.  Outside the tile we will have a wood mantel.  The hearth will likely be granite on top, but could still be tile. (yeah, I know I should have taken the picture with the fireplace ON)

Since I took these pictures Richard has started installing the trim at the top of the kitchen cabinets and our granite fabricator has been out to template the countertops.  We have also selected our granite slab for the upstairs. I will try to get a picture of it on Saturday.  Now we are feeling the pressure to purchase the remaining sinks and all the faucets since they want to install countertops next week!

Finally, I have put my hands on some Socks That Rock. I have known for a while that it was available at the yarn store near my office, but I was reluctant to add to my stash and also reluctant to pay more than MSRP.  I gave in and got these two skeins to try:

These are Farm House and  Midsummer Night in lightweight. The blue is slated for Embossed Leaves socks that are a gift and the other will be Monkey socks for me.  It certainly is a soft yarn to the touch.